Pelosi on election expectations: ‘We will win the House, Hakeem will be speaker’

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• Amna Nawaz:

  Meanwhile, back here in the studio, we are now joined by a leader in modern politics who hardly needs an introduction. That's Speaker Emerita and California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi.

  Madam Speaker, welcome back. Great to have you with us.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA):

  Wonderful to be with you. It's a tradition now. I think this is my fifth time on election night.

• Geoff Bennett:

  That's right.

• Amna Nawaz:

  We love having you back every time. Thanks for being a part of this.

  I know we want to talk about the White House, but I got to start with the House, that you know so well.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Of course.

• Amna Nawaz:

  Last time you were here, you were confident Democrats will win back control of the House. Specifically, you talked about the five New York seats you lost in 2022. Are you still confident you will win back those five and control?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Yes, well, may I just say that I was countering what was being proposed, which was that we were going to lose 30 or 40 seats. And I said, no, I thought that we could win the House, which I did think.

  We did lose those seats in New York. I think we will win them back, probably all of them, maybe more, in this election, and Hakeem Jeffries will be the speaker of the House. I have been traveling in all of — I haven't been to Georgia lately, but I have been to all of the other target states, because we have races in those states for the House, as well as for president of the United States.

  And I do believe that we will win the House, that Hakeem will be speaker. It is necessary from the standpoint of our policies, but also in terms of our democracy that, on January 6, just as I had the gavel last time, it's important for him to have the gavel to make sure that the election is accepted by the Congress of the United States.

  And that shouldn't even be a question.

• Geoff Bennett:

  When we spoke during the Democratic National Convention, you said you expected five seats, but that you wanted 10.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Oh, definitely.

• Geoff Bennett:

  Are you still that bullish?

  (Laughter)

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  I want more than that. I want at least 10. Five takes us to even. Well, it's four now. Now it's down to four. Four takes us to even. And I would like to go well into the 122, something like that, which would be about six more, so about 10.

• Geoff Bennett:

  When you travel across the battleground states, what are you hearing and what are you seeing that you think bodes well for Democrats' chances tonight?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  OK, well, let me just say this first. Everyone, go out and vote. If you have not voted yet, it's very important for you to exercise your right to vote. It's important, essential.

  And this day, this Election Day for us is really sacred territory because of the sacrifice of our founders to declare a war, to win a war, to establish a democracy, because of the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform and what they have done to fight for our freedom and keep it safe, and really for our responsibility to our children.

  So this is holy for me. So, however you're going to vote, go out and vote. What I have seen across the country is something that I — is music or pleasant to my ears, because I like to own the ground. I say there are two things. You must mobilize. You must own the ground.

  Get out your vote. And you must message in a way that is unifying for our country, which Kamala Harris is doing. Mobilize a message in a way that is, again, as — shall we say, you can't run on empty. You have to have your message out there.

  And what I have seen, to your question, across the country is a mobilization like we have never seen before in every state, not just the targeted states, but in every state, which leads me to believe that we will win the House.

  I think that we can win the White House as well. I'm so proud of Kamala Harris. And the response that we have seen to her message of — a message to go forward, just the economic message that she has is one that, again, attracts people to vote. So I think she will win too.

  But you asked me about the House. Hakeem will be speaker.

• Amna Nawaz:

  You did also mention January 6. And we have talked a lot about the possibility of political violence, about what to expect. Experts we talk to say it's really the time between Election Day and when the votes are certified or when the race is called, if that takes a few days, that they are most worried about.

  You have seen former President Trump has come out targeting you specifically as well.

  (Crosstalk)

• Amna Nawaz:

  He had awful things to say about you at a rally even last night. Are you specifically worried about your own safety? And how do you look at the landscape of whether there could be some kind of violence if it takes time between Election Day and a call being made?

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Well, let me just say about elections, it's the time leading up to the election, Election Day and then the count after that. And that's normal.

  Now, to just remind that, in — four years ago, when the former president was making all these challenges, the Democrats won over 60 percent of the court cases, just about all of them. And so far, we have won 20 of the cases in the time leading up to the election and going forward.

  Am I worried about my safety? Yes, I am. Two years ago, right this past week, my house, the sanctuary of our home was invaded. The safety of my husband was violated. He's still suffering from some of that, and by a person going there echoing the voice of January 6, "Where is Nancy, where is Nancy?" to punish me for what I have said about Donald Trump.

  So, yes, I think he knows that that's provocative when he says what he says. The sad part of it is, is that when he says he's there to protect women, whether they like it or not, I consider that violence against women. That's not what you say to women, and that's not what you say about what he said about Kamala Harris, what he said about me, what he said about the former first lady Michelle Obama.

  So it is provocative. And that's — I don't know why people just think that's funny. When he — when my husband was attacked, he made a joke of it. He made a joke of it. His family made a joke of it. The governor of Virginia, the current governor of Virginia made a joke of it. Musk, whatever his — he made a joke of it.

  And it's not funny, and that has no place in a political process. So am I afraid? Yes.

  But, apart from that, it's not about me. It's about other people who want to engage in politics. If you wanted to run for office, you would not want to think that you were jeopardizing the health and well-being of your family. That's just not what our system is about.

  But you know what? We don't agonize. We organize, and we're organizing in a very positive way about a new era for the future. Kamala Harris has, I think, been a spectacular candidate. I know she has been, and I look forward to her success. Whether the — however the election turns out because of the targeted states and all that, I know she will have won the campaign for a strong message, how we go forward for our country, that, right now, today, we're seeing college campuses turning out.

  And in Pennsylvania, you see many Puerto Rican, in the three Puerto Rican wards, record numbers of people turning out. And just to close on that, one of your reporters talked about Pennsylvania and saying that he said there was corruption in the election in Philadelphia.

  The Republican commissioner of the elections…

• Amna Nawaz:

  That's right.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  … in Pennsylvania said that is not true, there is no evidence of that. I did hear him say that.

• Geoff Bennett:

  You know, Madam Speaker, the country is deeply divided on a range of issues.

  What do you think are the biggest challenges in trying to bridge that divide after this election? Because no matter who wins, half the country is going to be upset.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Well, I think that we — that's really a very good question, because we have to be unifying. That's the way it is.

  And I don't think we're as divided as we are mischaracterized in terms of all of this. So I do think that Kamala Harris, as she said, I will invite my opponents to the table, as Lincoln did, to his Cabinet. And I'm sure she will do that as well.

  But the — we have to go back to our roots. What is our purpose as a country? We are a democracy. We have always had a difference of opinion since the beginning of our country as to the role of the federal government and the role of the state government, this or that. That's a legitimate debate to have.

  But when it moves into threatening violence and the rest of that, that's not a place to be. And I would hope that some more people would speak out against it. I'm very proud of some of the Republicans who have, Liz Cheney and so many others.

  But, again, let's listen to each other, let's come together, and we have a responsibility to reach across the aisle, to have transparency about what our differences are, and to have accountability for what we're there to do. And it's not so much about people saying, oh, they can't get — no, it's something that they — obstruction that they have put forth, because they don't believe in governance.

  They don't. They don't believe in science. They don't. So if science — government — science says you should do this to save the planet for the children, and governments say, this is the protections that we need, two no's do not make a yes. For our children, the babies that we see now, the little children, they will live to the next century.

  We have to make sure they have a planet that is healthy and safe, that they have a democracy that is strong and strong and consistent with the vision of our founders, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform, and, of course, again, the aspirations of our children, and that we have a society that is fair and is equal.

  And it used to be that way. Just had differences of opinion, not what's-his-name, the former president, has poisoned the atmosphere with. But I think we just get on with it.

• Geoff Bennett:

  All right, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, thank you so much for joining us…

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  My pleasure.

• Geoff Bennett:

  … and furthering this tradition of having you join us…

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Thank you.

  (Crosstalk)

• Geoff Bennett:

  … tonight.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Nice to see you. We will see what the results are later.

• Amna Nawaz:

  We will see.

• Rep. Nancy Pelosi:

  Upward and onward. Just don't forget your vote.

  (Laughter)